Floodlight



D. L. WOO D Get. 31,1967

FLOODLIGHT Filed June 19, 1964 v3 Sheets-Sheet 1 PaV/d L Woad,

D. L. WOOD FLOODLIGHT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 19, 1964 D. L. WOOD Oct. 31, 1967 FLOODLIGHT 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 19, 1964 United States Patent 3,350,554 FLOODLIGHT David L. Wood, Hendersonville, N .C., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed June 19, 1964, Ser. No. 376,475 7 Claims. (Cl. 240-3) The present invention relates to floodlights, and more particularly to a floodlight having heavy-duty construction for use in various outdoor area lighting applications.

Floodlight devices to the above type conventionally comprise a housing with a glass-covered front and enclosing a light source, and a reflector for directing the light from the source, and may contain electrical components such as ballast circuit elements for operation of the light source when the latter, for example, is of the gas discharge lamp type. Known floodlights of this type have, however, been subject to certain disadvantages, such as being relatively expensive and diflicult to manufacture, cumbersome to install and inconvenient to maintain in the field, and lacking adequate adaptability and adjustability for various purposes and conditions.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved heavy duty weatherproof floodlight device of the above type which is readily and economically manufactured, is capable of rapid installation and simple maintenance, and is adapted for a wide variety of outdoor lighting applications and conditions.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a floodlight construction of the above type having built-in electrical components for operating an electrical discharge lamp, and providing for ready installation of and access to such components for assembly, repair and servicing.

It is another specific object of the invention to provide a floodlight construction of the above type having a reflector and a mounting arrangement therefor which provides for ready assembly of the reflector in the housing and removal therefrom without the use of special tools.

It is still another object of the invention to provide for ready access to the light source in the above-described floodlight for easy removal and replacement.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide for adjustability of the light source in the above-described floodlight to obtain desired light distribution patterns.

Another object of the invention is to provide for im proved cooling of electrical components employed in the described floodlight construction.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

With the above objects in view, the invention relates in one of its aspects to a floodlight comprising a unitary housing having an open top closed by a cover and having wall portions defining with the cover a window opening,

the wall portions adjacent the opening having downwardly I converging retaining grooves for receiving similarly shaped window pane and reflector members, a mounting plate extending across the interior of the housing dividing the same into an upper compartment visible through the window opening and a lower compartment enclosed by the housing walls and the mounting plate, means for adjustably mounting a lamp in front of the reflector member, and electrical means for operating the lamp mounted in the lower compartment.

The invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view, partly broken away, of an embodiment of the floodlight of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the FIGURE 1 device with the cover partly broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the FIGURE 1 device taken along the line 33;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the underside of a portion of the cover of the device shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the upper corner of the FIGURE 1 device taken along the line 55;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the top of the front corner of the FIGURE 1 device showing the window and reflector retaining grooves;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the mounting plate employed in the FIGURE 1 device; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the reflector member employed in the FIGURE 1 device.

Referring now to the drawing, and particularly FIG- URES 1 and 2, there is shown a floodlight constiucted in accordance with the invention and comprising a unitary housing 1 made, for example, of cast aluminum having an open top closed by cover 2 and a laterally elongated front window opening 3 closed by a transparent window pane 4 preferably made of tempered, heat and shock resistant glass, or the like.

Cover 2 is formed on its underside, as seen in FIG- URES 3 and 4, with a projecting rim 2a extending around its margins and having a continuous groove 2b therein in which gasket or O-ring 5 of suitable resilient material is received. In the assembly of cover 2 on the top of housing 1, groove 2b fits over ridge 1a projecting above the upper edge of housing 1 of the rear and sidewalls thereof, and fits over a molding strip 411 (see FIGURE 5) which is fixed to the top of transparent window 4, and which is at the level of ridge 1a. Upon tightening of screws provided at the four corners of cover 2 into tapped holes in the upper corners of housing 1 (see FIGURE 2), gasket 5 is compressed and effectively seals cover 2 to the top of housing 1 and window pane 4. Cover 2 is provided with a front overhanging portion 20, as shown more clearly in FIGURE 4, which is hollow along most of its length, and there are preferably provided therein a plurality of cored bosses 2d spaced along the front of the cover to enable attachment (e.g., by suitable screws) of a shield or visor thereto (not shown) for screening the upper light rays if desired. The top surface of cover 2 is further preferably formed with projections 2e and 2f serving as front and rear sights to facilitate aiming of the floodlight.

Although not shown, the underside of cover 2 may be provided with means for supporting the top of lamp 10 in its different positions as herein described. Provision may also be made, if desired, for attaching a photoelectric control device to cover 2 for controlling the operation of the light source.

As will be evident from the described construction, removal of cover 2, which is co-extensive with the large opening at the top of the unit, provides ready access to the interior of the housing and ample room for removal, assembly, repair and servicing of the components contained therein.

As seen best in FIGURES 2 and 3, the interior of housing 1 is divided into upper and lower compartments by an elongated metal mounting plate 6 which extends laterally between the sidewalls and from rear wall to the front window, and is secured at opposite ends by screws 6a engaging cored bosses 6b projecting from the housing sidewalls. Plate 6 has a configuration as shown more clearly in the plan view of FIGURE 7.

When viewed from the front (see FIGURE 1), it will be seen that the housing sidewalls diverge upwardly along the upper compartment, while the lower sidewalls taper downwardly at a greater angle along the lower compartment. Formed along the inside corners of housing 1 (see FIG- URE 6) are an outer groove 7 extending along each side of the front window for receiving the opposite lateral edges of glass pane 4, and a groove 8 spaced inwardly from groove 7 on each side of the window for receiving the opposite lateral edges of reflector 9, described more fully hereinafter. correspondingly to the downward convergence of the upper housing sidewalls, opposite grooves 7 and complementary lateral edges of glass pane 4 converge downwardly, as do opposite inner grooves 8 and the complementary lateral edges of reflector 9. By virtue of the described construction, the assembly of glass pane 4 and reflector 9 in the housing is markedly facilitated. Because of the complementary tapered forms of the lateral edges of these components and their respective receiving grooves, little or no frictional resistance is encountered in sliding these optical members in place, since close contact between the lateral edges of these members and their receiving grooves does not occur until they are in final position therein. Normally, a curable elastomeric seal material is applied to grooves 7 prior to insertion of glass pane 4 therein to provide a fluid-tight seal for the window, and the absence of substantial frictional contact by the glass pane 4 with grooves 7 during the insertion of the glass therein avoids wiping away of the seal material by the glass edges during this assembly step.

Light source 10, which is typically a mercury vapor lamp, is mounted at its base, such as by threaded engagement, in a socket 11 adjustably secured to mounting plate 6. The lower end of lamp 10 passes through an elongated opening 12 in the central part of plate 6, such that adjustment of socket 11 on the plate enables lamp 10 to be selectively positioned at different distances from reflector 9 which is located behind lamp 10.

The adjustable mounting of lamp socket 11 is provided, as seen in FIGURE 3, by means of support bracket 13 formed of a vertical plate 13a, upper horizontal flange 13b directed toward the front, and lower horizontal flange 13c directed toward the rear. Lamp socket 11 rests on and is secured to flange 13c. Flange 13b is secured to the underside of mounting plate 6 by means of screws 14 (see FIG- URE 2) which pass through slots 14a. To adjust the position of lamp 10, screws 14 are loosened, the assembly of lamp 10, socket 11 and bracket 13 is moved backward or forward to the desired position, as permitted by movement of screws 14 in slots 14a, and screws 14 are then tightened. With lamp 10 in its rearmost position (as shown by the socket position in FIGURE 2), the light beam reflected outwardly will be relatively narrow, whereas wider light beams are obtained by moving lamp 10 toward the front.

Reflector 9 shown in perspective view in FIGURE 8 is constituted by a one-piece member preferably made of aluminum with a concave front reflecting surface 90 having a parabolic shape in both vertical and horizontal dimensions. The reflecting surface 9a is preferably formed of a multiplicity of facets or plane chord surfaces. Such a faceted reflector surface provides high projection efli ciency, relative freedom from images of the source, and uniformity of intensity. The whole beam is composed of many individual beams that at a suflicient distance merge into one. At its opposite lateral margins reflector member 9 is formed with flanges 9b, 90 having flat surfaces generally parallel to the casing window and having lateral edges converging downwardly, as previously described.

The dimensions of reflector member 9 are preferably such that upon assembly in the unit, the convex back of the reflector member is in contact with the rear wall of housing 1, and the rounded upper corners of flanges 9b, 9c are engaged by adjacent portions of projecting rim 2a of cover 2 when the latter is in place covering the top of the fioodlight housing (see the detailed view of FIGURE In this way, reflector member 9 in the assembled unit is securely held in position even though specific means are not provided therefor to fasten it to the housing or mounting plate. Thus, the reflector member may be readily removed and replaced after the cover 2 is taken off without the necessity for disassembly of any other parts.

As seen in FIGURE 1, the electrical components of the ballast circuit associated with discharge lamp 10 are located in the lower compartment of housing 1. These components include a ballast transformer 15 and capacitor 16 which are secured to mounting plate 6. The means for mounting transformer 15 include bracket 17 adjustably held to the underside of mounting plate 6 by screws 18 which pass through slots 19. Bracket 17 is arranged abutting against the core of transformer 15 for holding the latter in contact with lip 20 which is punched downwardly out of plate 6. Screws 21 passing through apertures in lip 20 and cored holes in the transformer core secure the transformer to lip 20. The described arrangement is such that ballast transformers of various sizes may be readily accommodated.

Capacitors 16 which are held together in close assembly by band 22 are secured to mounting plate 6 by U-shaped bracket 23. In a typical arrangement, capacitors 16 are assembled to bracket 23 by passing band 22 through slots in the bracket, as shown in FIGURE 1. Bracket 23 has flanges 23a, 23b at its upper end which pass through flagshaped slots 24a, 24b in mounting plate 6 and rest on the surface thereof adjacent to the slots. Screws 25a, 25b passing through the respective bracket flanges 23a, 23b and cored holes in the mounting plate 6 secure bracket 23 to the latter. The dimensions of slots 24a, 24b, as shown, are slightly larger than flanges 23a, 23b to permit ready insertion of the latter from the underside of plate 6, after which bracket 23 is slid forward until the screw holes in the bracket flanges register with the cored holes in plate 6, and the screws tightened therein.

The inner surface of the bottom wall of housing 1 immediately below capacitor 16 is formed with an integral solid projecting portion 26 formed to receive capacitors 16 in close, heat transmitting relation. Wall portion 26 thus functions as a heat sink to effectively remove excessive heat from the capacitors during operation and transmit the heat to the housing walls for dissipation to the atmosphere. Projecting portion 26 may be in the form of a continuous solid portion in contact with the lower surfaces of the capacitors, or it may comprise a series of parallel ribs on which the capacitors rest, or it may have any other suitable form which provides the heat transmitting function described.

The legs of bracket 23 are so proportioned that upon tightening screws 25a, 25b for holding flanges 23a, 23b against the upper surface of mounting plate 6, the lower surfaces of capacitors 16 are urged into intimate contact with projecting wall portion 26 for the purposes described.

The bottom wall of housing 1 is formed with an opening 27 in the central portion thereof to provide ready access to the lower compartment and the components contained therein. Opening 27 is closed by panel 28, which has an internally projecting rim 28a and is secured by screws 29 to the bottom wall. Panel 28 is usually provided with an aperture (not shown) for entrance of external electrical lead wires into the unit. On the inner surface of panel 28 is mounted a terminal board 30 having suitable terminal connecting means 31 for receiving and interconnecting the external lead wires to the internal lead wires (not shown) of the contained electrical components.

As will be seen from FIGURE 1, the above described arrangement of the electrical components provides for a compact assembly of the necessary electrical elements in the lower compartment while still permitting adjustability of and ready access to the various electrical elements contained therein.

The fioodlight housing is equipped with trunnion pivot bearings 32, 33 to which is swingably attached trunnion bracket 34 which may be locked in desired position relative to housing 1 by bolts 35, 36. The trunnion bracket mounting also includes a degree scale 37 adjustably attached to pivot 33 and pointer 38 fixed to bracket 34 to facilitate adjustment of housing 1 to a predetermined angle relative to the trunnion bracket. Trunnion bracket 34 is provided with suitable apertures 34a for securing it to a desired surface or support for mounting the floodlight.

The present invention as defined in the appended claims constitutes an improvement over the floodlight device claimed in co-pending application Ser. No. 376,450, filed June 19, 1964 in the name of J. P. Foulds and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

There is thus provided by the invention a weatherproof floodlight construction which is adapted for heavy-duty service in a wide variety of area lighting applications, is adjustable forproviding different light distribution patterns, may be readily manufactured with low material and labor costs, markedly facilitates assembly and maintenance procedures, and affords numerous other advantages over prior floodlight devices.

While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood that numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without actually departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover all such equivalent variations as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a floodlight comprising a housing having an open top closed by a cover and having wall portions defining with the cover a window opening in front of the housing, the improvement comprising downwardly converging windowpane-receiving grooves formed in the wall portions on opposite sides of the window opening, a transparent windowpane closing the window opening and having correspondingly downwardly converging lateral edges for fitting into said grooves, said wall portions having similar grooves rearward of and substantially parallel to said first-mentioned grooves, a mounting plate extending across the interior of said housing approximately at the bottom of said window opening, a unitary reflector in said housing supported by said mounting plate and having a concave reflecting surface facing said window opening, said reflector having opposite lateral flanges with downwardly converging edges fitting into said similar grooves for retaining said reflector in operative position.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, the upper edges of said reflector and of the housing walls being approximately in the same plane, the cover bearing against at least a portion of the upper edge of the reflector to retain the same in position.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, the reflecting concave surface of said reflector being parabolic, and the opposite convex surface thereof being in contact with the rear wall of the housing.

4. A device as defined in claim 1, said mounting plate having an opening therein located between and elongated along the optical axis of said reflector and said window opening, lamp receiving means adjustably mounted on said mounting plate adjacent said elongated opening therein for movement toward and away from said reflector, and a lamp arranged in front of said reflector and received in said lamp receiving means through said elongated opening in said mounting plate, whereby the lamp may be selectively positioned relative to said reflector for varying the characteristics of the light beam projected from the floodlight.

5. In a floodlight comprising a unitary housing having a bottom wall, side walls defining a front window and an open top closed by a removable cover, a mounting plate extending across the interior of the housing dividing the same into upper and lower compartments, a lamp arranged in the upper compartment, and lamp support means in the lower compartment, the improvement comprising electrical means for operating said lamp and including electrical ballast components mounted on said mounting plate and arranged in said lower compartment on opposite sides of the central region thereof, said bottom wall having an opening into the central region of said lower compartment for providing access to said lamp support means and said electrical ballast components, and a panel removably secured to said bottom wall closing the opening therein.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, one of said electrical components comprising electrical capacitor means, bracket means securing said capacitor means to said mounting plate, said bracket means depending from said mounting plate and being so dimensioned that said electrical capacitor means is firmly held thereby in intimate heat transfer contact with said bottom wall.

7. A device as defined in claim 5, said panel having mounted on the inner surface thereof electrical terminal means for connection to said electrical components and to external conductors.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

C. R. RHODES, C. C. LOGAN, J. F. PETERS,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. IN A FLOODLIGHT COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING AN OPEN TOP CLOSED BY A COVER AND HAVING WALL PORTIONS DEFINING WITH THE COVER A WINDOW OPENING IN FRONT OF THE HOUSING, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING DOWNWARDLY CONVERGING WINDOWPANE-RECEIVING GROOVES FORMED IN THE WALL PORTIONS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WINDOW OPENING, A TRANSPARENT WINDOWPANE CLOSING THE WINDOW OPENING AND HAVING CORRESPONDINGLY DOWNWARDLY CONVERGING LATERAL EDGES FOR FITTING INTO SAID GROOVES, SAID WALL PORTIONS HAVING SIMILAR GROOVES REARWARD OF AND SUBSTANTIALLY 